Due to the RMT strike action taking place, Northern’s last trains today will be leaving stations from 5pm, with very few trains operating after 7pm.

To help Grand National racegoers, Northern has added six evening departures from Liverpool Lime Street, with the last Northern trains leaving Liverpool Lime Street at:

• 7.02pm to Wigan North Western• 7.29pm to Urmston• 8.16pm to Newton-le-Willows

All of Northern’s services are expected to be very busy and customers are advised to plan their journey carefully and give themselves extra time to travel.

Richard Allan, Northern’s Deputy Manager Director, said: “By 1pm, we had operated 396 trains in our revised timetable, helping customers get to where they needed to be across the North.

“We are now concentrating our efforts on getting people home this afternoon and evening. We urge everyone wanting to travel later today on a Northern service to think now about their return journey. Services on many routes will wind down from late afternoon onwards, with very few trains running after 7pm.

“On behalf of Northern I would like to thank our customers for their patience and I would also like to thank all of our people who have worked hard to operate our trains so far today and look after our customers.”

Or contact Northern via• Twitter @northernassist• Facebook /northernassist• 0800 200 6060ENDSNotes to editors For further information, please contact the Northern press office on 01904 56 8652.Arriva Rail North Limited operates the Northern franchise, which is the second largest in the UK and it will run regional and commuter services across the region until March 2025. The operator will oversee the complete removal of the out-dated and unpopular Pacers by the end of 2019, and will invest £500 million in 281 brand new air-conditioned carriages.Other improvements on the Northern network include:• more than 2,000 extra services each week, with around 400 additional Sunday services, including new direct journeys from Bradford to Wakefield, Sheffield, Nottingham, Liverpool and Hull; from Leeds to Chester and Bridlington; from Lincoln to Leeds; and from Manchester Airport to Warrington, Bradford and Halifax• nearly a 40% increase in capacity – creating space for 31,000 extra passengers travelling into the 5 major commuter cities (Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle) of the north during the morning rush-hour• a new high-quality ‘Northern Connect’ service, meaning new or refurbished trains on longer-distance services, faster journeys and stations staffed daily with catering services and free Wi-Fi at each one – as well as serving the 5 major commuter cities, this network will also serve other destinations including Bradford, Halifax, Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Lincoln, Worksop and Retford• improved ticketing, including mobile and print-at-home tickets, and discounted fares for jobseekers.